Friends And Foes Alike
by Rocketknight56
Summary: When Sokka and Ty Lee meet in the woods and get to know each other, will their friendship affect their standings in the war? It takes place in the second season between Bitter Work and The Library. I hope you enjoy my first Avatar fanfiction. SokkaxTy Lee
1. When Water And Fire Collide

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

After being a long time fan of the show, I decided to write my first "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fanfiction. This story takes place during the second season in between the episodes "Bitter Work" and "The Library", so Aang can earthbend and is still trying to get better at waterbending. I had always wondered in the episode "The Drill" how Katara knew Ty Lee's name and that she was from the circus, so this story will hopefully explain that. I hope you enjoy reading this story.

Chapter 1

It was a normal day for the Avatar gang as they flew on Appa's back searching for a safe place to train Aang while avoiding the Fire Nation soldiers that were looking for them. The sun was shining brightly that afternoon and it looked like it would be a great day for Aang to practice bending, if they could only find someplace to land.

Despite the nice weather, the boredom of looking for a decent location was getting to all of the kids, and even Momo who squeaked more than usual. On top of all of that, they also hadn't eaten in a good while and were running low on supplies.

"Are we ever going to land? I'm starving!" Sokka exclaimed. Apparently the hunger and boredom were getting to Sokka more than usual.

"So what else is new?" Toph said in an uncaring manner. "You're always hungry. Tell us something that we don't know."

Right as Sokka was about to say something in retaliation, Katara stepped in between them and placed her hands on their shoulders. "Calm down, both of you! This bickering isn't helping anything!" she shouted so loudly that a flock of birds in the distance suddenly flew in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, Sugar Queen's right. There's no point in continuing an argument that I'd eventually win anyway." Toph said confidently.

As Sokka was about to say something again, Aang who was riding on Appa's head screamed "Hey guys, I found a place to land! Here Katara, take the reins while I check for Fire Nation soldiers." As she took the reins, Aang extended his glider and jumped off of Appa's head laughing playfully as he soared to the forest below.

"Does he always have to do that?" Toph asked.

"Trust me, you get used to it." Sokka replied.

As they landed, Aang hurried back to his friends and said that the area look okay from above. Everyone was relieved that they were on solid ground again, particularly Toph who wasn't to fond of flying in general. Just as Toph placed her feet on the ground, she felt a powerful vibration in the distance.

"What is it Toph?" Katara asked in a concerned manner.

"We're not the only ones here. Someone or something is definitely in this forest with us. I can't tell what it is, but whatever it is, it's big." Toph answered.

"What do you think it is Katara?" Aang asked as he approached her.

"I don't know Aang. It could be those girls from Omashu again. After all, they managed to find us before." Katara said with a worried look on her face. "Maybe it might be best to leave for now and find some other place to train."

"Awww, is Sweetness afraid of the big bad Fire Nation girls and their scary machine?" Toph teased.

"No!" Katara said as she walked towards Toph. "I'm just saying it's better to safe than sorry. After all we won't be able to train Aang if we're just waiting around to be ambushed by the Fire Nation! Who knows how many soldiers those girls could have brought with them this time?"

"Well, if any soldiers interrupt my training, I'll show them who's boss!" Toph shouted boldly. "After all, I'm the GREATEST earthbender in entire world!"

"Toph, calm down, you ARE a great earthbender, but you need to be reasonable." Katara replied trying to be patient.

"I think Katara's right Toph." Aang said as he stepped into the conversation. "She does make a lot of good points."

"Well what do you know? Twinkletoes is sticking up for Sugar Queen? Why am I not surprised? Toph retorted.

"I'm just saying that we should be careful and try not to caught. After all, the less firebending we have to deal with, the better. Anyway we're all to hungry to do anything if we DO have to fight." Aang said.

"And on that note, I'm going off to find something to eat." Sokka suddenly said out of nowhere. "I am getting hungrier by the minute." Everyone paused and looked him surprised at his comments. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I thought you guys were having a "benders-only" conversation." he said calmly.

"Sokka, weren't you listening. We're about to leave." Katara said sternly.

"No we aren't." Aang said as he saw Appa on his side asleep. "I guess Appa's too tired to fly us anywhere now."

"After carrying all four of us and our supplies on his for several hours straight, poor Appa must be exhausted." Katara said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well that's just great." Sokka said as he picked up his boomerang. "I'll be back soon after I find something to eat."

"Sokka, what about the vibrations that Toph sensed?" Katara asked as ran up to him.

"Katara, don't worry. There are probably a lot of caves around here. For all we know it could just be a bunch of badger moles digging some underground tunnels." Sokka said as he headed in the forest alone.

"Well, just be careful." Katara said with concern.

"Don't worry. I will." Sokka said as he tossed his boomerang around.

Sokka had been walking around for a couple of hours looking for anything that looked edible, but had no luck. Eventually he saw the sky start to change color and realized how long he had been gone. He knew that sunset was approaching and he had to find something to eat before night fell. Just then, he saw a tree with huge fruit growing off of its branches.

"It's not meat, but it'll do." Sokka said as he rubbed his stomach.

Sokka threw his boomerang perfectly cutting off the fruit from its branch, and quickly ran under it to catch it before it hit the ground. The fruit landed in his hands and splattered its juice in his face. He licked it off his mouth and bit into the fruit just as he heard a feminine laugh.

"Who's there?" Sokka shouted. "I know you're out there." Sokka felt as if this laughter was familiar somehow.

Just before Sokka could remember who the laugh belonged to, a limber girl in a pink uniform landed on the same branch that Sokka had cut the fruit from and smiled at him. "Hi, Cutie." were the only words to come out of her mouth.

"Ahhhh, it's you! That girl from Omashu!" Sokka screamed out as he looked for his boomerang. "Katara was right, it was you and your friends' machine that made the vibrations that Toph felt, I was really hoping that would have been badger moles instead." Sokka searched around for his boomerang, but was confused when he couldn't find it.

"Looking for this, Cutie?" Ty Lee said as held Sokka's boomerang in her hand. "I was exploring the area and I saw it in this tree I was climbing. It was in a branch near me and I thought it looked familiar."

"Well "Pokey" that's mine and I want it back now or else!" Sokka demanded, only to have Ty Lee giggle at his threat.

"Wow, you're even cute when your angry." Ty Lee said as if Sokka was just kidding around. "And by the way, my name's not "Pokey" just so you know."

"Well what would you call someone that pokes somebody when they fight... and that's not the point anyway!" Sokka screamed. "Give it back now! This is your last warning!" He was obviously very frustrated at the situation and Ty Lee called his bluff.

"Okay Cutie, you can have it back." Ty Lee said sweetly.

"Well then, that's better." Sokka said proudly as if he had won a fight. "You must be a smart girl to know better than to anger a warrior like me." Sokka continued as if Ty Lee hadn't defeated him in battle before, cause Ty Lee to giggle again.

"All you have to do is catch me first!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she playfully leaped through the tree branches in the forest, laughing the entire time. "Come on Sweetie, you have to move fast to keep up with me!"

Sokka groaned and chased after her not even thinking about the possibility that she might be leading him into a trap, or that her two friends could following him right now just waiting for the right time to strike. All he could think about was getting his boomerang back at any cost. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice the trench ahead of him, as he monitored Ty Lee's movements in the trees.

Ty Lee was having so much fun playing around with Sokka that as she turned to look at him running on the ground, she accidentally stepped on a dead tree branch that snapped and caused her to fall. Sokka yelled as she crashed into him and caused them both to fall down the steep incline of the trench.

When they had both landed, Ty Lee sat up and brushed the dirt off her arms. "Oh, I must be lucky, I landed on something soft." she said happily.

"Hey, who are you calling soft?!" Sokka said, his face muffled in the ground. Apparently he had broken Ty Lee's fall and wasn't too happy about being on the receiving end of the collision. "Can you get off of me?!"

"Oh, sorry about that." Ty Lee said as she squirmed off of him, slightly embarrassed about the predicament. Just then Ty Lee smiled at Sokka, causing him to become nervous.

"What is it? Why are you smiling?" Sokka said as started to back away, but hit a wall with his shoulder.

"Well Cutie, it appears that there's no escape now." Ty Lee said as she extended her smile "It looks like I caught one of the Avatar's friends, but what do I do now?"

"What indeed?" Sokka thought to himself. "Oh man, why did this have to happen to ME?"

At this moment, Sokka realized he might be in a lot more trouble than he thought.

Well, that's the end of Chapter 1. I hoped you enjoyed reading so far. I'll write Chapter 2 as soon as I can. See you next time.


	2. When Sokka Met Ty Lee

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

Thank all of you who read my story and reviewed it. Thanks to a random reviewer, I actually have an understanding of how Katara knew Ty Lee's name in "The Drill" . In the episode "The Chase", Mai says to Katara "I thought when Ty Lee and I caught you, it would be more of a challenge." This story will elaborate further on the rivalry of Ty Lee's rivalry with Katara and the crush she has on Sokka.

Chapter 2

Sokka was caught between a rock and a hard place and he knew it. As Ty Lee smiled, he was wondering if this was just an elaborate plan to get him all alone, or if she was just in the right place at the right time. As she vacantly stared into his eyes, he knew she was just lucky, but he decided to put up a front and stay on guard.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! You haven't caught me yet!" Sokka boldly stated "After all, how do you know that this wasn't my plan, and in reality you're the one who's been captured by me?" This remark caused Ty Lee to giggle.

Sokka was having a hard time believing himself, so he couldn't blame her for laughing. "You know, you're really funny Cutie." Ty Lee said as she wiped away some dirt from her cheeks.

"I know I'm considered the funny one of the group, but this time I'm being serious!" Sokka said as he saw his boomerang in front of him and grabbed it. As he stood up and assumed a battle stance, he accidentally dropped his weapon.

"Ow!" Sokka screamed as he shook his hands and noticed that they were scratched up from the fall. "Oh great, of all times to be injured." he muttered to himself.

"Did you hurt yourself Sweetie?" Ty Lee said with a look of concern on her face.

"No, it's just a scratch, that's all. So don't think I'm completely defenseless just because my hands are a little damaged! After all, I've still got use of my feet!" Sokka bluffed even though Ty Lee knew better.

"That looks like more than just a little damage. Let me help you." Ty Lee said sweetly as she began to stand up.

"Stay back!" Sokka said as he picked up his boomerang and struggled to hold on to it.

"No really, I want to help you. After all it was my fault you were hurt." Ty Lee stood up but immediately fell back to the ground. "Ow, my ankle!" Ty Lee screamed. Apparently, she was injured in the fall as well as Sokka.

Sokka looked at her for a moment, and then turned around assuming that this was just a trick to get him closer so Ty Lee could make her move. As he turned around again, he could see her cringing, and knew she was being sincere.

"Wait Cutie. Please don't go. I don't want to be left here all alone." Ty Lee said trying to play on Sokka's sympathy.

As Sokka saw the sky change color and become darker, he knew that night was coming and that the badger moles who were probably responsible for making this trench, as well other things were a great danger to an injured person alone in the forest. Eventually, his male instinct of helping a damsel in distress overtook his common sense about the possibility of an enemy's counterattack.

"I'm probably going to regret this." Sokka thought to himself as he walked towards Ty Lee and extended his hand to help her up.

"Oh, thank you." Ty Lee said as she saw Sokka flinch. "Here, let me take care of those injuries." Ty Lee said as she pulled some of her pink hair ribbons out of her pants pockets and bandaged Sokka's hands with them.

"Well, thanks for wrapping up my hands, but do you always keep extra hair ribbons in your pockets?" Sokka asked with a confused look on his face.

"Of course. Doesn't everybody?" Ty Lee replied.

"It may not be as good as Katara's healing ability, but it'll have to do." Sokka said as he looked at his hands. "Wow, pink bandages, that's so...girly."

"Well of course. I am a GIRL after all Cutie." Ty Lee reminded him.

Sokka then looked at her ankle. "Hmmm, it seems like it's just a sprain. You should be able to walk fine tomorrow." He turned around and bent down causing Ty Lee to be confused.

"What's going on?" Ty Lee asked naively.

"If your ankle really is sprained, it'll just be easier for me to carry you than for you try hopping on your other foot." Sokka said.

"What about your hands?" Ty Lee asked in a concerned manner.

"Don't worry, I can manage thanks to the ribbons covering my wounds." Sokka said confidently. "I'm stronger than I look, so let's call a temporary truce. It's just the easiest thing to do in this situation."

Ty Lee knew she could walk on her hands just fine since they weren't injured during the fall, but she couldn't resist this chance to get closer to Sokka, so she accepted his offer and hopped on his back. She wasn't used to having piggyback rides before, but Ty Lee made an exception in this case.

"Okay Cutie, truce!" Ty Lee cried out as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"That's another thing by the way, my name isn't "Cutie", it's Sokka." Sokka said.

"Well, my name's not "Pokey", it's Ty Lee." Ty Lee replied.

"Ty Lee, huh? That's a nice name." Sokka said still trying to comprehend the reason he decided to aid the enemy when they were in a vulnerable position.

"Thank you, and you're right Sokka. You ARE stronger than you look." Ty Lee said, causing Sokka to slightly blush.

As night settled in, Sokka and Ty Lee knew they would need some sort of shelter and fast before it became too dark to see, as well as a source of heat or they risked freezing in the cold night's wind. Through teamwork, Sokka found a cave, and Ty Lee had been collecting various small tree branches along the way. They decided that it would be the best place to relax and recover from their injuries. As they stepped inside, they heard various animal noises, one of which was a loud howl.

"What was that?!" Sokka said nervously.

"Oh, probably just a wolf bat. Don't worry Sokka, they're nothing to be afraid of." Ty Lee said calmly.

"I'm not nervous! Besides, how do you know they aren't dangerous?!" Sokka said trying to cover up his fear.

"I used to be with a traveling circus, and I know about many different types of animals since we had so many in our show." Ty Lee replied. "The wolf bat is usually rather docile, unless it's provoked, then it becomes very angry." At that moment, Sokka remembered the time he saw one "provoked" in the Cave Of Two Lovers.

As Ty Lee looked around the cave holding tree branches in one hand, and Sokka's shoulder in the other, she decided to start a random conversation like she would do to break the boredom when she was traveling with Azula and Mai.

"So Sokka, do you think I'm cute?" Ty Lee asked innocently causing Sokka to stop for a moment. "Because, I think your cute, and I wanted to know how you felt about me." This comment caused Sokka to blush harder than he did earlier. It was no surprise that he was nervous, because even though she was from the Fire Nation, he had thought she was physically attractive, but he wouldn't let her know it. After all, being involved with a potential enemy could come back to bite him in the rear later on.

Ty Lee knew Sokka was scared by this question and instead asked him something else. "Well, I'm curious, why did you offer to help me earlier? Is it because you're a nice guy who didn't care that I was from the Fire Nation, or is it because I was a GIRL in trouble? Sokka knew why she asked that, and knew she was right on both counts, because if it was Zuko that was injured instead of her, he would abandoned him and never looked back. So naturally Sokka gave her the best answer he could think of.

"Eh, a little from column A, a little from column B." Sokka said casually.

"So that means that you're a nice guy who would help a cute girl even if she's from the Fire Nation." Ty Lee concluded.

"Well, I guess so." Sokka said trying to end this conversation.

"Then that means you DO think I'm cute!" Ty Lee said happily.

At that moment, Sokka could see the entrance of the cave and saw a full moon in the night sky. No matter how many times he saw the moon in the sky, it always saddened him deeply to relive the terrible memory of the North Pole and Princess Yue's sacrifice. Now that he was holding Ty Lee, he felt even more guilty seeing the full moon in the distance.

"Hey Sokka, what's the matter?" Ty Lee said sympathetically.

"Huh, oh nothing...nothing's the matter." Sokka sadly replied as he let Ty Lee climb off his back. "We should probably rest here. I hope your friends don't get mad because you've been gone for so long."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I wander off all the time when we reach a new area, so I'll just tell them that I got lost on the way back. They'll understand." Ty Lee said.

Sokka tried to use two of the branches to start a campfire, but his hands were too tired from the fall and carrying Ty Lee all of this time. He realized that his friends were probably searching for him as well, and really felt that he could use some of Katara's healing power as he dropped the sticks in the pile of branches. Ty Lee then picked up a pair of rocks and hit them together causing sparks to ignite the pile of wood.

"You learn a thing or two about fire when you have the most famous female firebender in the Fire Nation as a best friend. Princess Azula is very resourceful." Ty Lee said happily.

"I still don't understand how a nice person like you could ever be involved with someone like Princess Azula. She's completely insane!" Sokka shouted out.

"Well, she's not actually insane. She has a...well a...SPARK, yeah a spark that makes her well a little bit uh...mischievous." Ty Lee said trying her best to explain Azula's behavior.

"Although the words may sound similar, "mischievous" and "murderous" have two different meanings. You seem like a good person Ty Lee, but you can't let her walk all over you." Sokka replied.

"No really, she isn't all bad. When we were young and learning about acrobatics, she would push me down when she couldn't do a flip or a cartwheel as well as me. Mai and I knew she was just playing of course. We weren't offended or anything, after all, she's royalty and that's how princesses can be at times." Ty Lee said.

"Well, I've met up with members of royalty in the past, and they were nothing like her, thank goodness. She just seems like a spoiled brat who gets upset if she doesn't have her way." Sokka said with contempt. He then rubbed his arms which were quite sore.

Ty Lee crawled behind him, causing Sokka to flinch as she approached. He remembered what happened the last time Ty Lee touched him, and didn't look forward to losing the feeling in his appendages again. Sokka closed his eyes, but to his surprise, Ty Lee was massaging his shoulders, and doing a good job.

"Let me help you relieve some of your pain. Don't worry Sokka, as a contortionist I know the human body very well, and know were all of its most sensitive parts are. That's how I know where to attack someone in battle, and also how to give great massages." Ty Lee said.

"Thank you, Ty Lee." Sokka said as he enjoyed his massage.

As Sokka relaxed during his massage, he knew that Ty Lee was a genuinely kind person who like to help out when ever she could, and that she was traveling with Azula because of her altruistic nature, not because she cared about the war or capturing the avatar. At that moment Sokka turned his head and saw the sky through the entrance of the cave and wondered how Katara and the others were doing, or if they were alright considering that Azula and Mai were still in the area.

Well, that's the end of chapter 2. I hope you are enjoying it so far. I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I'll try to write chapter 3 as soon as I can.


	3. The Ties That Bind

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

I'm sorry about the long wait for the update in this story, but I became very busy and then the holidays started so I really didn't have too much free time. I've also been thinking about the construction of the story more, so thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy reading this next chapter.

Chapter 3

As time went on, Aang, Katara and Toph were desperate wondering about what happened to Sokka and continued searching for him. Despite the cold wind blowing or the darkness of the sky, they were determined to find their friend at all cost. Of all of them, Katara was indeed the most worried, because as his little sister, she had known Sokka all of her life, and indeed had a strong bond with him.

Aang flew on his glider, while the girls searched on foot going in opposite directions. They decided that splitting up might be a big risk, but Toph said they could cover more ground that way. With the night becoming colder, and their bodies becoming more exhausted from searching and training all day, they were all worried they wouldn't find Sokka before they were ambushed by the fire nation, or just collapsed from exhaustion.

As Aang surveyed the area from a bird's eye view, he remembered the incident that occurred during the winter solstice and how Sokka was carried off by Heibai the spirit of the forest. Aang remembered that as one of the few times he was completely powerless to save someone, even if he was the avatar. While he searched he eventually saw Katara and Toph's locations, and hoped that they were having better luck then him.

Time passed on, and Katara was becoming more worried by the second. She knew that Sokka was indeed a capable warrior who could look after himself, but at the same time it wasn't like him to miss dinner. He was always very punctual for meals, and it would be unlikely that he would skip one, even if he was sick. Katara knew of the dangers that could be out there like wild animals, or worse yet the Fire Nation soldiers. Katara was distracted by these thoughts as she walked until she bumped into someone causing them both to fall over.

"Owww, hey watch where you're going!" Toph grumbled as she rubbed the top of her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry Toph. I didn't see you there." Katara said as she stood up.

"That's a first, I thought I was the one who wasn't able to see things." Toph said, trying to lighten the mood. Even though Toph was blind, she could sense that Katara was still upset about something. "So, were you able to find Sokka?"

"No, I wasn't." Katara said sadly.

"Yeah, well calm down. I'm sure Twinkletoes just found him before we did. He's probably going to fly down any minute now with results." Toph said confidently.

At that moment, Katara looked in the sky and saw Aang on his glider descending towards her. Katara was relieved, until she saw a saddened expression on Aang's face. Toph sensed something was wrong as well.

"Judging by the silence, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this can't be good news." Toph said.

"I'm sorry Katara, I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find him anywhere." Aang said apologetically.

"Oh, that's okay Aang." Katara said as she forced a smile onto her face. "I'm sure you did your best. Don't worry about it. We'll just get some sleep and continue our search in the morning."

As they headed back towards their campsite, Katara walked slightly ahead of her friends so that they wouldn't be able to see her distraught expression. Toph decided that it was too quiet among the group and decided to break the silence.

"So Aang, what did YOU find while you were searching the area?" Toph said curiously.

"Well Toph, when I was flying I found some badger mole caves, some wolf bats, something big that looked like it could have been made of metal or could have been a broken tree, and some Fire Nation soldiers in the distance but they could have also been broken tree stumps. It was too dark to tell." Aang said quickly.

"Something that could have been made of metal? That's interesting. All I found was Katara." Toph said in an unsatisfied tone.

"Hey Katara, what did you find?" Aang shouted as Toph put her hand over Aang's mouth and shook her head back and forth.

"Oh, I'm sorry Katara." Aang said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's okay Aang, I didn't find anything that might lead us to Sokka." Katara said as she turned around with that same forced smile from before.

At that moment, the trio reached their campsite completely drained and ready to call it a night, except for Katara who merely sat down by her tent and looked at the sky.

"Hey maybe Momo and Appa saw something while we were gone." Aang said cheerfully as Momo flew on his shoulder. "Hey did, you see something boy.?" Momo squeaked, but Aang wasn't able to understand him.

"Um, I'm going to take that as a "no". That's too bad." Toph said as Appa roared out. "And I'm going to take that as a "ditto". I guess none of us were lucky tonight."

"No, we weren't." Katara said sadly.

"Hey, Katara cheer up." Toph said sympathetically. "It's not like Sokka can't take care of himself. Even if he did run into some Fire Nation soldiers, he'd probably just use his fast talking to escape the situation. After all, when we had that big fight a while ago, Sokka stood his ground and tried to stop me when I left. Of course, I moved the ground from under him and left anyway, but you get the point."

Katara looked at her and feigned a smile but then looked away. Aang could tell that this bothered Toph quite a bit.

"That's it, I give up." Toph said as she looked at Aang. "Here Twinkletoes, YOU try to cheer her up. After all you're better with...you know...talking to people and understanding their emotions and all that stuff."

"Thanks Toph. I'll try." Aang said happily, as it was rare for him, or anyone to receive any type of compliment from Toph.

"Yeah, but remember I'm still a better earthbender than you. I think being with you guys is starting to make me soft." Toph said as she let out a loud yawn and constructed a small tent out the ground next to her. "You have to cheer her up, I can't go on being the "kind" one in this group. I'm going to sleep now. See you tomorrow."

"Good night Toph." Aang said as he turned to face Katara. He nervously gulped and walked towards her.

"Aang, can I tell you something?" Katara said nervously.

"Oh sure, Katara." Aang said as he sat down next to her and blushed slightly.

"I know that Sokka is fully capable of taking care of himself, but the reason I'm so worried is because, well ever since I lost my mother and my father went off to fight in the war, he's the only family I have with me right now, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost him too." Katara said as she looked towards the sky.

"I understand Katara. You know being raised among the monks I never really knew anything about my mother, and Monk Gyatso was like a father to me, so when we went to the Southern Air Temple and I learned that I was the last surviving airbender, it was so painful that I went into the avatar state." Aang said as he looked into Katara's beautiful blue eyes.

"I remember that day. You were so overtaken by grief and shock that I had to do something to help you." Katara said.

"You said that we were family, and I knew from that moment that nothing, not even this war could separate us. And I'm sure Sokka knows that too." Aang said in a positive tone.

"I suppose you're right Aang." Katara said as she looked at the stars in the sky. "You want to know something Aang? Right before my father left for battle, Sokka and I were so upset, so he told us to look to the stars in the sky and remember that no matter how far apart they were in the world, the stars would always surround us and be a common link, so in a way we would never be apart."

"That sounds like something the monks at my temple would say." Aang replied as he had noticed Katara had fallen asleep leaning against her tent.

As Aang saw her sleeping he realized that Katara was not only beautiful, but compassionate, wise, as well as a skilled waterbender and that's how he knew that his feelings towards her were genuine and more than just a strong friendship. He just hoped that one day she would return those feelings, as he gently airbended a nearby blanket over Katara.

"Good night Katara. Don't worry tomorrow, we'll find Sokka and make our family complete again." Aang said quietly as he headed towards his sleeping bag.

Even though Aang felt a great accomplishment in making Katara feel better, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something or somebody might be out there, or if that tree he saw earlier was a tree, or something made of metal after all.

Well, that's the end of Chapter 3. Thank you all for being so patient and I'll try to write Chapter 4 as soon as I can.


	4. The Reunion

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

Hi there everyone. It's been a while since I've updated, but I didn't have as much time to write as I would have liked to. I've also been thinking more about the story's construction and other possibilities in order to make it as interesting as I can. This chapter will have a lot of character interaction as well as few other surprises.

Chapter 4

As the long night turned into a new day, the sun's gentle light brightened the interior of the cave and hit Sokka's sleeping face, causing him to wake up. As he woke up, the last thing he remembered was sitting down and Ty Lee giving him a massage and realized he must have fallen asleep during that time. Just then he felt a small vibration on his arm, and turned to see that Ty Lee was asleep and her head was breathing gently on his shoulder. Sokka's surprise in seeing her caused him to blush and then flinch, but he was able to keep his cool.

"Well, it's a good thing the others aren't here right now, or I'd probably never hear the end of this." Sokka said to himself quietly, as he saw Ty Lee's peaceful expression.

"Hmmm, it's morning...and that means it's time for breakfast." Ty Lee said as she awoke.

"So breakfast is the first thing she thinks about when she wakes up. A girl after my own heart." Sokka thought to himself as he noticed his hands were feeling better.

"Hi there, Sokka. I hope you had a good sleep last night." Ty Lee said as she sprang to her feet. "Hey, my ankle feels great!"

"That's good, but you should take it slow so you don't hurt yourself again." Sokka said as his stomach rumbled. "Oh man, I'm starving. I've got to get something to eat."

"Okay, I'm hungry too. Tell you what, I'll go find us some food and you stay here, okay Sokka?" Ty Lee said cheerfully.

"Hey, why do I have to stay behind?! I can find food just as well as you can, so maybe YOU should stay behind." Sokka said as he stood up.

"I'm sure you could sweetie, but that wouldn't be a good idea considering that Azula and Mai are still in the area searching for me." Ty Lee said in a soft tone. "And besides, I'm faster than you are anyway. You had enough trouble keeping up with me when I was running in the trees with your boomerang, so let me do this as a favor to you, okay Sokka."

In all the confusion, Sokka had completely forgotten about Ty Lee's friends, and the possibility that they were looking for her. He didn't like being left behind, but in this case he knew that Ty Lee was right.

"Okay, I'm too hungry to argue anyway." Sokka replied.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Ty Lee said as she ran out of the cave.

Sokka was both hungry and nervous as different thoughts raced inside of his mind. He was thinking of how much danger he was placing himself in befriending Ty Lee. He didn't know what was worse, the fact that he was actually comfortable around someone from the Fire Nation, or the fact that she could be out right now looking for her friends and setting Sokka up for a trap.

"No, I don't think she'd set me up...or I hope she won't." Sokka thought to himself. "I think I'll be alright. I can handle myself. After all, she fell for the old Sokka charm." he continued.

"Yeah, I've still got it." Sokka said causing an echo in the cave, which was followed by several loud roars.

"What was that?!" Sokka screamed out.

Sokka turned around and saw several huge badger moles heading towards him. He quickly unsheathed his boomerang, but forgot that his hands hadn't fully recovered from his encounter with Ty Lee. Sokka then did the only thing he could do. He put away his boomerang, and ran out the cave as quickly as possible, screaming for help hoping that his friends would hear him.

Luckily for Sokka, Ty Lee didn't wander too far from the cave as she searched for food in the treetops, and saw Sokka running from the badger moles below her. Ty Lee knew her chi blocking techniques wouldn't stop the badger moles and help Sokka, but she couldn't just leave him like this. She searched around and saw Aang, Katara and Toph in the distance and quickly ran over to where they were and waved her hands drawing attention to herself.

"Hey, it's that girl from Omashu!" Aang screamed as he extended his glider to try catch Ty Lee who was hopping in the treetops.

"I KNEW they were the ones responsible for Sokka's disappearance!" Katara shouted as she chased after Ty Lee.

"Don't worry Katara, she won't get away from us!" Toph exclaimed as she followed her friends in the chase.

Ty Lee was worried that she wouldn't be able to outrun the Avatar and his friends, especially since her ankle hadn't fully recovered. She was scared about what would happen if they managed to catch her, but she ran as fast as she could, dodging all of the airbending, waterbending, and earthbending that was used against her until she eventually led Aang and the others to the trench where Sokka was screaming as the badger moles chased him.

"Aang, look down there! Sokka's in trouble!" Katara cried out.

"Hey, what about that girl?! She'll going to get AWAY!" Toph said as she saw Ty Lee head higher into the treetops.

"There's no time to worry about her right now Toph. Right now we have to save Sokka before it's too late." Aang said as he dove on his glider down into the trench.

"Remember your horse stance, Twinkletoes!" Toph shouted.

"Horse stance, horse stance." Aang repeated to himself as he landed next to Sokka and raised the earth beneath them. Toph then created a bridge out of the side of the trench allowing Aang and Sokka to run across the trench as the badger moles retreated back to their cave.

"Sokka, I'm so glad you're okay!" Katara said as she hugged Sokka.

"It's good to see you again Sokka." Aang added as he put his hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Yeah, Aang and Katara were worried about you." Toph said in a casual tone.

"Just Aang and Katara were worried?" Sokka asked.

"Okay, I'll admit it, it's good to see you in one piece." Toph said as she punched Sokka in the shoulder causing him to flinch.

"Sokka, what happened to your hands?" Katara asked as she let go of her brother.

"Oh, its nothing." Sokka said trying to hide his bandaged hands behind his back.

"Hey, where did you get those pink bandages from?" Aang asked as he looked behind Sokka's back.

"Wait a minute. That girl from Omashu is still here. I can feel her in the tree right next us. And judging by her heartbeat, she must be pretty exhausted." Toph said with a smile.

Toph was completely right. In a nearby tree, Ty Lee was catching her breath in one of the branches. She was tired from running away from Aang and his friends, and was hoping that once they found Sokka, they would leave the area and allow her to recover without further incident. Ty Lee was nervous, because she was too tired to defend herself in this encounter.

"Come on out! We know you're up there!" Toph yelled.

"Um...hi there everyone." Ty Lee said sheepishly as she poked her head from behind the tree trunk.

"What happened to Sokka?! Are you responsible for those injuries on his hands?! Because if you did, you'll regret it! Come down here and answer me!" Katara shouted at Ty Lee as she removed the water from her canteen.

"I guess in a way, it might be my fault that Sokka was hurt, but it was an accident. I even tried to bandage his hands afterwards." Ty Lee explained.

"Why should I believe YOU?! You could just be making this up to save yourself!" Katara retorted.

"Don't worry, Katara. She's telling the truth. You can trust me on this one." Toph replied.

"Yeah, Katara. Toph's right. If anything...I kind of set myself up for the injuries, and Ty Lee patched them up." Sokka said as he ran in front of his sister.

"I definitely believe THAT, Sokka. "Ty Lee" huh? I didn't know you two were on a first name basis." Toph said causing Sokka to glare at her.

"Okay, so what happened was yesterday when I was looking for food, I threw my boomerang and Ty Lee happened to catch it. After chasing her, we both fell down a ditch and were injured, and she bandaged my hands. We decided to call a truce until this was over and spent the night around a campfire in a badger mole cave, and when we woke up, the badger moles attacked us, and you guys saved me and here we are now." Sokka said quickly causing him to pause for air.

"See there, Katara. A perfectly logical explanation." Aang said as he approached her.

"Yeah, logical in the loosest sense of the word." Toph said as she walked towards them.

"Hey, you guys seem like a nice bunch and all, but I really have to go now. As a sign of good faith, I'll leave first so that you'll be certain I won't be following you." Ty Lee said as she hopped down from the tree.

"You're in NO position to bargain!" Katara exclaimed.

"No wait, that sounds like a good idea. It's the easiest way to avoid any more problems, and it lowers the risk of a confrontation with Princess Azula and Mai if we just leave this area now." Sokka said.

"Before I go Sokka, I have something for you. Close your eyes and hold out your hands, okay." Ty Lee said playfully.

"Um...okay." Sokka said.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Ty Lee said as she dropped some nuts and berries into Sokka's hands. "I found these this morning and meant to give them to you."

"Well...thanks." Sokka said as he put the nuts and berries in a small sack he took from his pocket.

"Oh, and one more thing, Sokka." Ty Lee said as she jumped up and kissed him on his left cheek causing him to blush. "Just something for you to remember me by."

"I thought being blind would be an advantage in this situation, but I could actually HEAR that kiss." Toph said as she cringed.

"Oh and don't be too hard on Azula, she just wants to capture the Avatar, but doesn't really have anything bad planned for him. That's what she says to us, anyway." Ty Lee said.

"Wow, if she believes that, I've earthbended a bridge that I'd just love to sell her." Toph said with a cheeky expression.

"Really, do you think I'll be able to earthbend a bridge too one day?" Aang said enthusiastically.

"Uh...sure you will Twinkletoes." Toph replied.

"I'm also sorry that I disabled your chi and stopped your waterbending. If I had known you were so inexperienced, I would have held back." Ty Lee said innocently as she turned to Katara.

"What?! Inexperienced?! How dare you! Come over here and I'll show you how "inexperienced" I am!" Katara yelled causing animals to run in the distance.

"Easy Katara. Like Sokka said, we have to go before Princess Azula finds us." Aang said as he held Katara's shoulders restraining her advancements towards Ty Lee.

"After this war is over, I'll get all of you free admission to my next circus performance, and then after the show is over Sokka, we'll go out and have dinner for two and maybe some dessert afterward." Ty Lee said in an excited manner.

"Um...sure." Sokka said without thinking.

"Great, then its a date! Remember, rub your left cheek so you don't forget me or the promise you just made, okay Cutie." Ty Lee said.

"Yeah, I'll remember." Sokka said with a smile.

"I'll call you "Cutie" so that way Azula won't know that I ran into you and got to know you, okay. Bye, I'll see you later." Ty Lee said as she scampered off into the woods.

Aang and his friends ran back to the campsite where Appa and Momo were waiting for them and packed their things as quickly as they could, and climbed aboard Appa flying off and looking for a new place to train, all the while hoping that they could avoid any more trouble, especially Princess Azula.

"She wasn't so bad. Actually she kind of reminded me of my old friend Kuzon from the Fire Nation." Aang said to Katara who was still didn't trust Ty Lee.

"Yeah, she was able to evade MY earthbending and turn Sweetness over here pretty sour so she's an okay opponent in my book." Toph said as she turned to Katara

"Gee Sokka, a date with a girl from the Fire Nation. I wonder what Suki would say if we stopped by Kyoshi Island and told her about this." Katara said.

"No, I don't think we need to do that!" Sokka said nervously. At that time he rubbed his right cheek and remembered that Suki had kissed him there right before they left Kyoshi Island. His mind raced with different thoughts and knew that his involvement with Ty Lee might lead to trouble, but now he knew that he was right.

"So wait, you mean Sokka has ANOTHER girlfriend on Kyoshi Island?" Toph said concealing a laugh.

"Oh yeah, Sokka's always been popular Toph. I should tell you about the time we went to the North Pole." Aang said.

"No, I don't we should tell her about that Aang." Sokka said even more nervous then before.

"No, DO tell Twinkletoes. This should be interesting." Toph said as she put her hands behind her head and relaxed.

Sokka put his face in his hands and groaned knowing that this was going to be a long day, but unfortunately for him and his friends that wasn't the biggest concern at the moment. As Appa carried the kids through the afternoon sky, they were completely oblivious of a certain metal machine below them that saw them take off, and were following in hot pursuit.

Well that's the end of Chapter 4. Thank you for being patient. I put a lot into this chapter which is why it took so long. I'll try to continue the story as soon as I can.


	5. Misadventures In Babysitting

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story except for Mayu.

I wanted to update a little quicker than usual so I thought of ways to enhance the story as well as make it more interesting. I remembered when Aang and his friends met up with Azula in Omashu how Sokka was stuck taking care of the governor's son and thought it was really funny. This chapter was inspired by that sequence. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Chapter 5

The afternoon was going smoothly, as the sun was shining and the wind gently caressed the kids' faces during their flight on Appa. Aang had been on Appa's head steering for a couple of hours. Everything seemed to be going well, until Sokka rubbed his cheek and remembered Ty Lee's kiss. At that moment, he noticed Katara's facial expressions changing and could tell that she was pretty angry with the whole incident. Sokka knew that Katara wasn't too thrilled with being on friendly terms with Ty Lee and sooner or later she was going to snap.

"What's wrong Katara?" Sokka asked.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong?! How can you ask me that after what just occurred Sokka?! You wander off and worry us half to death, and then we find you with that Fire Nation girl and then everyone acts like nothing happened!" Katara shouted.

"The Fire Nation girl's name is Ty Lee." Sokka replied.

"Oh, my mistake, we found you with "Ty Lee" and everyone acts like nothing happened! What were you THINKING Sokka?! Do you realize how dangerous it is being associated with someone like THAT?! Or did you forget that she's friends with Princess Azula?" Katara shouted.

"Hey Katara, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing." Sokka retorted. "I mean come on, have I ever been in a situation I COULDN'T handle... actually don't answer that."

"Calm down Katara, after all this is pretty funny. I mean, after all the time we listen to how Sokka would show the Fire Nation who's boss if he had the chance, and then he goes and falls in LOVE with one of the Princess' friends. " Toph said as she laughed.

"That IS pretty funny." Aang said as he turned around and saw everyone's expressions.

"LOVE?! No Toph, you have it all wrong!" Sokka said nervously.

"Oh, I think I'm right about THIS, and think if Sokka marries her, she'll be your sister-in-law Sugar Queen! Just make sure to invite me to the wedding!" Toph said as she continued laughing.

"Yeah, remember Sokka you're already supposed to have dinner and a pastry with her after the war is over, so that's something to look forward to." Aang said enthusiastically.

"Well you all can laugh about this if you want, but there is absolutely NOTHING funny about this situation." Katara said sternly.

"Look guys, can we just change the subject?" Sokka said as Momo jumped on his shoulder.

Toph continued to snicker to herself as Momo tried to grab a passing bug.

"So Momo, have you found any interesting...bugs lately?" Sokka asked as Momo squeaked back to him. "Really, I didn't know that?" Sokka responded.

As Appa bellowed a mighty roar, Aang could tell that he was becoming tired and suggested that they land in a nearby forest. The forest had a lake, so Aang could practice both waterbending and earthbending. Katara was trying to put the events of this morning behind her. Toph was just happy to know they were landing soon. Sokka was both worried, and somewhat excited at the prospect that he might run into Ty Lee again.

When they landed, Sokka said he was going to explore the area to make sure that there were no Fire Nation soldiers or other potential threats in the area. Since Sokka was unable to bend elements like his friends, he used his warrior training to contribute whenever he could, and scouting was one of his specialties.

"Have fun, Sokka. See you later." Aang said cheerfully.

"Yeah, just make sure to find your way back to the campsite this time." Toph said with a hint of sarcasm.

Sokka approached his sister who remained quiet through the ordeal. He was afraid of what she might say, but he had to see if she was alright.

"Just promise me... that you'll be careful, Sokka." Katara said as she hugged him.

"Don't worry Katara, I'll be okay. If I need help I'll let you know." Sokka said.

"Just yell if you need anything. I'll probably be able to hear you." Toph said.

"We'll all be there to help you, Sokka." Aang agreed.

"I know you can take care of yourself Sokka, and we'll see you when you return." Katara said as she let go of him.

As Sokka walked into the forest, his mind was full of different thoughts, such as his growing hunger, the thought of running into Ty Lee and her friends, and the possibility of running into other animals, or other threats. Despite how pensive Sokka was at the moment, he was completely unprepared for what he was about to run into as he heard someone crying in the distance.

"What's that?" Sokka said as he rushed towards the noise.

Sokka headed towards a clearing where the noise was coming from and was surprised at what he saw. It was a little girl who was lost in the forest. She had black hair that went a little beyond her shoulders, and was pretty small, so she was definitely young. Sokka was eager to help until he noticed that she was wearing a white robe with red edges, and could tell that she was from the Fire Nation. He was skeptical about what to do until he heard the girl speak.

"Where are you daddy, I miss you." the little girl sobbed.

"I can't just leave her alone out here." Sokka said to himself "Even if she might be a firebender, she's still too young pose a threat."

Sokka walked out into the clearing and slowly approached the little girl, but she quickly wiped the tears from her face, and ran behind a tree.

"No, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Sokka said.

Sokka remembered the time where Aang was negotiating the release of King Bumi in Omashu, and how he yelled at the governor's son for touching his weapon, causing him to cry. Sokka had always felt bad about that, because even though the baby was from the Fire Nation, he was still an innocent child, and Sokka wasn't the type to hurt or take advantage of truly weaker individuals.

"My name is Sokka. What's your name?" Sokka asked.

Just then, Sokka realized how hungry he was, and that the sack full of nuts and berries he had was completely empty. He looked up into the trees and saw fruit growing from their branches. Sokka took his boomerang out and threw it up in the tree, causing the fruit to drop down into his hands and the juice to splash into his face from before.

"Why does that always happen?" Sokka said as the little girl laughed.

"My name's Mayu." the little girl said as she looked the fruit Sokka was holding.

"Well, Mayu...would you like a piece of this fruit. It's pretty tasty." Sokka said as he took a small piece and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Sokka." Mayu said as she ate the fruit piece.

"Now then, how did you get out here anyway?" Sokka asked.

"Well, I was looking for my daddy. My mommy said he went out of our village with his friends with red metal clothes to see something in the forest. My big sister and I miss him and want him to come home. My birthday's soon and I'll be seven. That's why I wanted him to come home, but I got lost." Mayu explained.

"Red metal clothes? You mean Fire Nation soldiers?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, that's what my big sister called them. I can't make fire like daddy's friends, but I really want him to come back to the village." Mayu said.

Sokka knew that Mayu must have come from a nearby Fire Nation colony, and that her father was probably sent to investigate this area, possibly searching for Aang. What Sokka didn't know, was how to tell Mayu that her father might be fighting against earthbenders, or other rebels and that he had no clue how to find her father. Sokka decided that he should talk to his friends about this issue, even if it was a risk revealing their location.

"Okay, I'll help you find your father." Sokka said remembering how much he missed his father and hoping he was okay.

"Yay! Thank you, Sokka!" Mayu said as she ran up and hugged Sokka, who was still a little uncomfortable helping a stranger from the Fire Nation.

"Yeah...we better get going." Sokka said as Mayu grabbed his hand and smiled.

A while had passed since the search for Mayu's father began, and Sokka was still nervous about the current situation. He wasn't certain how he would explain this to his friends and was confident that this would be a real burden on all of them, and he was completely unsure how he would reunite Mayu with her father. After all, she was obviously too young to understand that in war, a soldier couldn't quit his mission and go home just because his six-year-old daughter missed him.

"You know what I want to be when I get older, Sokka?" Mayu asked.

"No, what do want to be when you get older?" Sokka said playing along with her.

"I want to be like the circus lady." Mayu said with excitement.

"The circus lady?" Sokka asked as he scratched his forehead.

"Yeah, the circus lady at the fun circus show I went to! She's really nice and pretty and wears a lot of pink and everybody loves her!" Mayu cried out.

Mayu's description of the "circus lady" prompted Sokka to immediately think of Ty Lee, and was curious if that was the person Mayu was referring to. Just then, he heard a rustling in the trees. He thought it might be a bunch of birds in the treetops, but with his luck it was probably some Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka knew that if was the latter, he was in a lot of trouble because he wasn't sure how he was going to handle them, and protect Mayu at the same time.

Either way, Sokka was ready for anything at this point.

Well that's the end of Chapter 5. I thought this would be an interesting development in the story. I hope you had fun reading it. I will update as soon as I can.


	6. Times Of Joy And Sorrow

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story except for Mayu.

This chapter is actually the second part of the last chapter, which was becoming to long for me to finish. I had a hard time deciding about certain elements and thought it would be more efficient to break this sequence down into two chapters. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Chapter 6

Sokka was extremely nervous about possibly being ambushed by Fire Nation soldiers especially considering he had to take care of Mayu, but was completely surprised to see Ty Lee jump down in front of him.

"Cutie! I knew I'd see you again!" Ty Lee said as she quickly hugged Sokka.

"It's the circus lady!" Mayu screamed out in joy.

"Ty Lee, what are YOU doing here?!" Sokka said as she let go of him.

"Azula saw your bison fly off and we followed you here. I guess I was pretty lucky she saw you, or I don't when I would have met up with you again." Ty Lee explained.

"Oh great, so Azula knows we're here?!" Sokka said nervously.

"Yes, Azula may have followed you, but the good thing is that I got to see you again sweetie. So that's a pretty good thing." Ty Lee responded.

"Sokka, are you the circus lady's boyfriend?" Mayu asked innocently.

"WHAT?!" Sokka screamed out as he blushed.

"Oh, I know this girl. She was at my last performance before I went traveling with Azula and Mai. A good performer never forgets a fan, no matter how young they are." Ty Lee said as she approached Mayu.

"This is just GREAT. As if this day couldn't get any MORE complicated." Sokka muttered to himself.

"So how did you two meet up anyway Sokka?" Ty Lee asked.

Sokka explained to Ty Lee everything that happened to him that day and all the events that led up to his encounter with Mayu and her story of how she was separated from her family.

"This is definitely a problem." Ty Lee said.

"I know. I was thinking about asking the others for help, but...wait a minute, what's that noise?" Sokka asked.

At that moment, Sokka had overheard voices in the vicinity, and walked towards a bush. As Sokka, Ty Lee, and Mayu poked through the bushes, they could see a couple of Fire Nation soldiers in the distance heading their way. Sokka knew he had to think fast, or he would be in serious trouble.

"Oh man, Fire Nation soldiers! This is BAD! Very, very BAD!" Sokka said loudly.

"Yay! It's Daddy!" Mayu said happily.

Ty Lee looked at Sokka, and could tell that he was trying to hide his fear, and quickly hatched a plan.

"Don't worry Sokka, I've got an idea." Ty Lee said as she winked at him. "Come with me Mayu, you're going to see your father and go home."

"Okay. Bye-bye Sokka." Mayu said.

"Goodbye, Mayu." Sokka said as he watched through the bush.

Ty Lee held Mayu's hand as she stepped though the bushes and approached the Fire Nation soldiers. The lead soldier was tall and stout, and immediately noticed his daughter Mayu signaling his men to stop.

"Mayu, is that you?" the soldier asked.

"Hi, Daddy!" Mayu said as she ran up to her father.

"Excuse me, but I am Ty Lee, the personal aide and good friend to Princess Azula. She has personally given me instructions to tell all of the soldiers in the area to return to their colonies to keep watch for the Avatar who she believes is somewhere in the area, and might stop in one of the colonies to evade capture. I found this child in the forest and she has been helping me with my task this whole time." Ty Lee explained.

"But we can't turn back on our mission to patrol the area for sightings of the Avatar without personal orders from Princess Azula, young lady." the soldier explained respectfully.

"Well, I COULD tell Azula that you need her to personally come and tell you to return to the colonies, but then she'll think that you questioned her orders, and I can tell honestly tell you that she absolutely HATES her orders questioned in ANY way possible." Ty Lee continued.

"I...I understand. Men, we're returning to the colonies." the soldier instructed to his allies.

"Are we going home, daddy?" Mayu asked her father.

"We sure are, dear." the soldier said warmly as he picked his daughter up.

As Sokka watched from the bush, he was amazed at Ty Lee's performance being able to fool the soldiers and help Mayu at the same time. Even though Mayu was a Fire Nation soldier's daughter, Sokka was still happy to see her reunited with her father, and realized how much he missed his father.

"That was pretty good plan." Sokka said to Ty Lee as she walked towards him.

"The first rule of being a performer is knowing how to improvise." Ty Lee responded as she noticed Sokka's awkward expression. "What's wrong, Sokka?"

"Yeah...I don't know about this, we probably should go our separate ways before we get caught together." Sokka said.

"Why? Is it because I'm from the Fire Nation? What do you have against the Fire Nation anyway?" Ty asked him.

"When I was younger, the Fire Nation attacked my village and my mother was killed. It was the first time in my life that I couldn't stop my younger sister from crying." Sokka said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have asked if I had known your answer was that painful." Ty Lee said sympathetically.

"That's okay. I should go before anything else happens." Sokka said.

"Why, what could go wrong?" Ty Lee asked.

Just then, Sokka heard some familiar voices calling his name in the distance. Sokka knew that his friends weren't too far behind, and it was just a matter of time before they caught up with him. Considering how unsupportive Katara was with this whole scenario, Sokka thought it would be best to not be seen with Ty Lee in order to avoid further conflict.

"Oh, now I see what you mean. I'll see you later, Sweetie." Ty Lee said happily as she ran off into the woods.

"That sure was a close one." Sokka said to himself as his friends approached him.

"Sokka, are you alright?" Katara asked as she ran up to him.

"Yeah, we heard a lot of noise coming from this area and thought you might be in trouble when we heard your voice." Toph said.

"Don't worry guys. I'm okay." Sokka replied.

"That's good. When we get back to the campsite, I can show you some new bending techniques." Aang said.

"Why are you so nervous anyway Sokka, it's not like you were off with your GIRLFRIEND again, right?" Toph asked in cheeky tone.

Just then Sokka stopped walking and Toph could tell that she was right as she sensed the vibrations shift in the ground.

"You WERE with her, weren't you?" Toph asked again.

"Is that TRUE?! Were you with Ty Lee again?!" Katara asked Sokka as she walked in front of him.

Sokka knew his friends wouldn't leave him alone about the subject, so he decided to tell them everything that happened that day, including his encounters with Mayu and Ty Lee.

"I knew it! First you find one girl from the Fire Nation and now you find two?! While we were busy training Aang, Sokka was out on another date with his girlfriend!" Toph shouted.

"Look, Ty Lee is NOT my girlfriend! I could NEVER love anyone from the FIRE NATION, especially after they started this war and killed my mother!" Sokka screamed without thinking.

"Calm down, Sokka. I was only kidding." Toph said.

Of course Sokka, knew that his previous statement wasn't completely true. While he did harbor negative feelings towards the Fire Nation, he certainly didn't hate Ty Lee. What was unfortunate was that while Sokka was just putting up a front so his friends wouldn't question him about the subject, Ty Lee was in a nearby tree to make sure he was safe. She was heartbroken over his words and wiped tears away from her face, before she ran off in the nearby branches.

"What was that?" Aang asked.

"It...was probably... a bird... or something." Sokka answered.

"Well, what ever it was, it's gone now." Toph replied.

"We should head back to the campsite." Katara said.

Sokka had a sinking feeling that he was wrong about a bird making the noise he just heard and knew that he would soon regret his outburst he made about the Fire Nation. He was also about to learn a valuable lesson the hard way: The Spirit World hath no fury like that of a woman scorned.

Well that's the end of chapter 6. This sequence was really tough to plan out, but I'm happy with the result. It was fun to write. I'll update the next chapter as soon as I can.


	7. The Showdown

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

I was actually pleased with the results of the last chapter, and was inspired to continue writing further. In this chapter, there will be some major character conflict and other surprises as well. I hope you enjoy reading this story.

Chapter 7

As the kids walked back to their campsite, Sokka couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. It was definitely possible, since his previous statement was pretty loud and could have given away their position, but he was certain it was the context about not being able to love anyone from the Fire Nation that was the bigger issue. This was one of the few times Sokka wished he wasn't right.

"What's wrong Sokka?" Aang asked.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Sokka replied.

"Oh, come on Sokka., we weren't born yesterday. You're way too quiet right now." Toph stated. "At this time you'd complain about one thing or another, usually about how hungry you are."

"It's...nothing, really." Sokka said trying to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Sokka's probably just tired you guys." Katara said. "He'll probably be back to his old self after a good meal, and nice rest. After all, it's been a long day."

"That makes sense. I'm pretty tired too." Aang agreed.

"What's the matter Twinkletoes? Were the earthbending lessons too much for you?" Toph said unsympathetically.

"No, no, it's not that. It's just having both waterbending and earthbending lessons in succession is a lot." Aang answered.

"Well tough it out, Twinkletoes because it isn't get any easier." Toph snapped.

"Yeah, you're right Toph. I can't imagine how hard it's going to be when I start learning firebending also." Aang said as he noticed Sokka's pensive expression.

Sokka had been walking with his friends for a while, and figured that Katara was right. But still, he couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that someone overheard him, and he was going to find out who it was very soon. Sokka decided that it would be best to act normally so that his friends wouldn't catch on to his suspicions.

"Don't worry guys. Katara's right, I'm just hungry and a bit tired. A meal does seem pretty good right about now, and then some rest seems nice." Sokka said.

At that moment a lightning blast came out of nowhere and almost hit Aang causing him to jump when he heard it. Aang and the others turned around and saw some several people that they were acquainted with, but weren't happy to see.

"Sorry, but your dinner plans have been cancelled. However, if it's rest you desire, I think put you to sleep quite easily." said a confident female voice.

"It's Princess Azula and her friends!" Katara shouted.

Katara quickly opened her water canteen and prepared herself for the imminent battle that was about to ensue. Azula was standing between her allies Mai and Ty Lee waiting for Aang and his friends to make the next move. During all of the commotion, Sokka only noticed Ty Lee's expression, which looked like a mixture of anger and sadness, and knew that his previous thoughts were correct.

"So Ty Lee was right. Apparently the avatar and friends WERE in the area. I'm feeling generous today, so if the avatar comes with us without any resistance, I MIGHT decide to spare your insignificant lives." Azula said as she advanced towards Aang.

"No way!" Aang said defiantly.

"Why do we have to things the hard way, when it would be so much more easier and efficient to just surrender now. If the rest of the world understood that, this war could end sooner, and everyone would be happy." Azula said as she curled her mouth.

"We're NOT going to let you take Aang!" Katara shouted.

"You insolent peasants actually think you have a choice in the matter, but you're only fooling yourselves. We WILL take the avatar one way or another." Azula replied.

"That's not going to happen!" Aang said.

"Oh well, I tried to be nice. My conscience is clear. But this is why I don't exercise kindness, because in reality, only power really matters. If you really want to fight a battle you can't win, be my guest. I should warn you though, I'm not soft or incompetent like my brother, Zuko." Azula said proudly.

Azula's last comment caused Mai to glare at her, but Azula ignored it and prepared her battle stance along with her friends. Ty Lee however seemed to only be staring at Sokka, which wouldn't normally have intimidated him so much, but Sokka could sense that she wasn't concerned about his other friends and that he was her main target.

"Alright! I've been waiting for a rematch! The last time you were lucky because I was tired, but today I'm fully rested! You guys are about to be in a world of pain!" Toph stated boldly.

"I just hope this doesn't end as anticlimactic as before." Mai said as she took out some throwing knives.

"Don't worry. I'm about to make things real interesting." Toph said as she created a fissure in the middle of the ground causing the three girls to jump out of the way. Azula then shot a fire blast in mid-air at Aang, but he quickly raised a section of the ground to block the attack.

"I won't be stopped that easily!" Azula said as she ignited her foot on fire and shattered Aang's earth shield causing his friends to separate.

Mai then threw some knives at Toph, who blocked with a bigger earth shield and laughed at Mai's failed attempt to connect her attacks.

"Ha! It's going to take a lot more than your little toys to take ME down!" Toph said cockily.

Just then, Ty Lee who was jumping though the trees managed to land behind Toph and used a quick series of movements to block her chi, and causing Toph to fall over, scratching her ankle on a nearby rock.

"I guess you've never heard of a diversion." Mai said as she picked up her knives.

"Toph!" Katara shouted as she used her water whip to fend Ty Lee and Mai away from her fallen body.

Ty Lee dodged Katara's attack, and ran straight towards her. Katara waved her whip faster, but Ty Lee's swift movements allowed her to evade her perfectly. As she came towards Katara, Aang created a powerful wind that pushed Ty Lee back.

"Don't let your guard down!" Azula shouted as she created a fire blast between Katara and Aang causing them to jump in opposite directions.

As Katara turned around, two throwing knives hit her bracelets and pinned her arms to a tree. Katara struggled to free her arms, but before she could, Ty Lee ran up to her and used the same techniques on Katara that she had used on Toph, with such force that the knives fell out of the tree, and causing Katara to fall to the ground.

Sokka tried to run up to help his sister, but Ty Lee dashed towards him and prevented him from assisting her. Ty Lee swung her arms, trying to numb Sokka's body but he barely dodged her movements.

"What happened to "holding back" the next time you saw us?!" Sokka asked her.

"What happened to "liking a cute girl even if she was from the Fire Nation", or was that just a lie?!" Ty sadly replied as tears started to form in her eyes.

As Sokka noticed Ty Lee's tears he knew that she had heard him say that he could never love anyone from the Fire Nation, and that she must have been seriously hurt causing her to cry a lot to form the redness in her eyes. Sokka had truly felt guilty, and in the instant he was distracted, she gave him a quick and powerful kick in the stomach which sent him back a good distance causing Aang to turn his head.

Aang noticed that his friends were in trouble, but he couldn't evade Azula who was throwing continuous blue fire blasts to counter his airbending. Aang managed to delay Azula, but a quick lightning bolt caused Aang to stop his airbending and dodge. Azula then ran into Aang at full force, causing his head to hit a tree and knocking him unconscious.

"Aang! Katara! Toph!" Sokka shouted as he struggled to stand up.

"And then there was one." Azula said widening her smile.

"Hey, you always save the best for last." Sokka said as he took out his boomerang.

"Actually, since YOU can't bend, I didn't really consider you a threat and just ignored you. After all, what can a mere "warrior" do in a real battle against a firebending prodigy?" Azula said cruelly.

Sokka was angered by Azula's mockery of his warrior status and the fact that he couldn't bend elements like his friends, and didn't intend to let her get away with disrespecting him. He looked up in the trees, and that many different fruits had adorned their branched. Sokka took his boomerang and threw it at an upward angle, causing it to cut all of the smaller branches and causing a massive downpour of fruit in the entire area, causing Azula and her friends to jump to avoid his unorthodox attack.

"Ha! Who says that only elements can be bended?" Sokka said confidently as he caught his boomerang.

Ty Lee then ran up to Sokka, and followed through more hard attacks pushing him back, as Azula used a lightning bolt to shoot a branch that landed on Sokka's head and caused him to fall over.

"Owww, that smarts! I liked it better when just the FRUIT landed on my head." Sokka said as he tried to catch his breath. Sokka was on his hands and knees trying to stand again, but he was too exhausted from Ty Lee's attacks.

"I told you your insolence would cost you peasants dearly." Azula said as she walked towards Sokka and bent down in front of him. Azula put her left index finger under Sokka's chin and tilted his head so that they were making eye contact.

"You won't...get away...with this." Sokka said as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Oh, really?" Azula said with a smug expression. "And whose going to stop me?" she asked as she lifted her right hand and stuck up her index and middle fingers in his face as they started to create sparks.

Sokka was nervous, as he was so close to Azula, he could feel her breath on his face when she spoke. The sparks on her fingers were causing him to shut his eyes, but he still tried to maintain a brave attitude despite the situation.

"One shot...and it would all be over in an instant. You should feel lucky that despite your rebellious actions, I've decided to spare your lives." Azula said with a wicked smirk.

"What?" Sokka muttered.

"You see, if I were to kill you all now, you wouldn't be able to truly acknowledge your defeat now and be around to see the Fire Nation's victory at the end of this war. And we can't have that, now can we?" Azula said coldly.

"No...I...won't...let...that...happen." Sokka said in his fatigue.

"Cheer up, water peasant. You're about to be a part of history when the Fire Nation ends this war. And when it's all over, you might be able to be one of our warriors." Azula said as let go of Sokka and stood up.

Sokka was disgusted at Azula's remark and tried again to stand up, but he was just too tired to do so.

"Mai, grab the avatar." Azula said.

"As you wish." Mai replied as she put Aang on her back.

Sokka had looked up and saw that Aang was carried away. The last thing he noticed was Ty Lee's heartbroken expression as she turned away from him. As he was about to pass out, he managed to say one last thing.

"Ty... Lee...I'm...sorry." Sokka said as he fell over.

Azula and her friends took Aang and walked away in pride as the victors of the battle, and left Sokka, Katara, and Toph alone and unconscious in the forest.

Well, that's the end of chapter 7. I hoped you liked the fight sequence. I did my best to make it entertaining. I will try to update the story as soon as possible.


	8. Sokka Alone

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

I wanted to update this story as quickly as possible. I've been able to think about the story some more and I was able to write this chapter. This chapter will have some more twists in it as well as other surprises.

Chapter 8

Sokka was completely exhausted from his previous encounter with Azula and her friends, and both his body and his pride were greatly damaged. He regained conscious, and tried to get his bearings, only to hear a familiar female voice.

"Well, well, it looks like Snoozles is finally awake." Toph said to Sokka as he sat up.

"Huh, who's there?" Sokka said as he rubbed his head.

"Who do you think?" Toph answered him.

Sokka had noticed that he was sitting by a campfire and that Toph was holding a teapot and pouring what appeared to be jasmine tea into a cup she was holding. He also noticed that Katara was lying next to her, still unconscious.

"What... Toph? What happened?" Sokka asked her as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh don't you remember? We were about to head back to the campsite and have something to eat, but were attacked by Azula and her friends, and the rest is history." Toph said.

"Is Katara alright?" Sokka said with concern.

"Yeah, don't worry about her. She's just sleeping, and I can hear her breathing normally so everything's fine. She'll probably come to any minute now." Toph said before she sipped some of her tea.

"How long was I out... and where did you get that tea?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, I'd say about an hour or so. While you were asleep, I awoke and saw a friend of mine who made this campfire, and this tea." Toph told him.

"A friend of yours?" Sokka asked her as she handed him a cup of tea.

"Yeah, he's an old guy who said that he had go look for his nephew who was training by himself. Before he left, he made this tea, and said that we could keep the pot and cups he left. I guess he made jasmine because it was his favorite kind." Toph said.

As Sokka sipped some of his tea, he looked around the area, and noticed something important was missing.

"Wait a minute, where's Aang?" Sokka asked Toph.

"You must have gotten hit harder than I thought, Sokka. Your "girlfriend" took him away, along with Azula and that other girl." Toph replied.

"Well, Katara always told me I had a hard head. I guess she was right...but that's not the point! I already told you guys before, Ty Lee is NOT my GIRLFRIEND!" Sokka said in an irritated tone.

"Really? You would never know it considering how much I overheard you calling her name and apologizing to her in your sleep!" Toph said with a smile.

Sokka would have continued his argument with Toph, but he knew she was absolutely right. Sokka was still feeling responsible for Ty Lee's sorrow, and now it looked like his friends had paid the price, especially Aang who was now a Fire Nation prisoner. He knew he had to fix this situation and fast, but didn't know how until he saw something on the ground.

"Hey, these footprints are still relatively fresh." Sokka said as he observed the trail ahead of him.

"What does that mean?" Toph asked.

"It means that the Fire Nation girls didn't bother to cover their tracks, and they favor speed over stealth." Sokka explained.

"I don't blame them. My ankle is still too sore for me stand right now, so I don't think we'll be chasing them anytime soon." Toph said as she rubbed her foot.

"Katara will be able to help you when she wakes up. I'm going ahead to see if I can delay Azula and her friends." Sokka said as he stood up.

"Are you sure you're in any condition to be chasing those girls alone, Sokka? Why don't you just wait for Katara to heal your injuries first?" Toph asked.

"There's no time for that now Toph. Those girls already have a huge head start on us, and if I don't go now, it might be too late to save Aang." Sokka said.

"I really don't think that's such a good idea. You shouldn't go looking for trouble right now." Toph said as she poured some more tea.

"Hey, I didn't say it was the smart thing to do, but it is the right thing to do. Besides we don't have a choice." Sokka said.

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess your right. Just...be careful Sokka." Toph replied.

"Don't worry, I will Toph. I'm counting on you to look after my sister while I'm gone. I'll leave a trail that you can follow once you two able to follow." Sokka said as he looked at the two girls.

"Sure, I can take care of her Royal Sweetness for you. We'll catch up with you as soon as we can." Toph stated confidently.

"I'll see you later." Sokka said as he ran off.

Sokka rushed off as fast as he could following the trail of footprints that Azula and her friends had left behind. Sokka used his boomerang to cut into the trees so that Katara and Toph knew which way to go in order to catch up with him. He wasn't fully healed from the previous battle, but he wasn't concerned about that the time.

"I just hope I'm not too late." Sokka said to himself.

While it was true that Sokka wanted to save Aang, that wasn't his only reason for going after Azula and her friends. Even though he didn't let Toph know it, she was completely right about his desire to apologize to Ty Lee for hurting her. Sokka felt guilty for doing so, and felt that it was his responsibility to make amends.

"I've really done it this time." Sokka said as cut some more trees. "I just hope that I don't run into any MORE trouble today."

Sokka ran as fast as he could, but he was still feeling his injuries. He rubbed his arms, as he felt Ty Lee's inflictions upon his body. As he followed the footprints, he eventually came to a clearing that was infiltrated by Fire Nation soldiers. He saw tents that had the Fire Nation insignia, and was prepared for a possible ambush, so he hid behind a nearby tree.

"Just ONCE when I ask to not run into any trouble, I'd like to NOT run into any trouble for a change." Sokka said as he peeked behind the tree and noticed something peculiar.

"Wait a minute...everyone's...gone." Sokka said in confusion.

The campsite was completely empty, except for the tents Sokka saw. He observed the area, and could tell that there were soldiers here recently. Sokka just assumed that they were on patrol and were wandering around in the forest, which made him worry about Katara and Toph. Sokka thought he was lucky and continued through the campsite, following the trail of footprints, until he saw it leading to another clearing where he saw a Fire Navy boat docked at the ocean.

"Oh no, I REALLY hope I'm not too late." Sokka said as he approached the boat.

Sokka noticed that there were no soldiers around the boat, and that's when he knew something was definitely wrong. As he slowly approached the gangplank, he became increasingly nervous, but knew he couldn't back down now. When he reached the top he searched the ship quietly until he saw a way to the lower deck.

"This must be where their keeping Aang. Now all I have to do is find him before the ship sets sail." Sokka said as he saw a lightning blast right beside him causing him to fall over.

"Sorry, but that won't be happening." said a cold female voice.

Sokka wasn't happy as he looked behind him and saw Princess Azula, standing between Mai and Ty Lee, who still had the red marks around her eyes from her tears.

"You see ladies, I told you that the avatar's friends couldn't resist saving him." Azula said confidently.

"What? Oh no, this WAS a trap. I KNEW it was too easy to find you!" Sokka said as he took out his boomerang.

"Of course, it was a trap you fool. Did you really think I would make it this easy for you to find me unless I wanted you to?" Azula said in a sharp tone.

"Wait, so you WANTED me to find you?" Sokka asked in confusion.

"Yes, you see it hadn't occurred to me until we actually won our battle against you that the airbender might go into his avatar state that I heard decimated our forces during the invasion at the North Pole. If he was by himself, he wouldn't have any reason to suppress that power, but if his friends were in the area, he would restrain himself from releasing it." Azula explained.

"So the Fire Nation campsite I passed..." Sokka started.

"Was abandoned for a reason." Azula finished.

"You were just playing a game with me so that you capture my other friends as well as Aang?" Sokka asked.

"That's right, and you just lost. I WAS hoping for the rest of your little group to come along with you, but I guess ONE hostage will have to do." Azula said with a wicked smile.

"I don't think so! You think just because you got the best of me the last...couple of times that you'll be as lucky this time." Sokka bravely stated.

"You just don't get it do you, water peasant? How many times do you have to fail before you learn your lesson? Your foolishness even rivals Zuko's! I don't know if that's more impressive or pathetic! " Azula said in haughty tone as Mai made another glare at her.

"I won't let you get the best of me again!" Sokka said boldly.

"Your defiance is truly amusing. After we win the war, you could be a Fire Nation warrior AND a personal jester." Azula replied.

Sokka was enraged at Azula's constant taunting and underestimating his abilities, but he was feeling the pain of his injuries, which hadn't fully healed. He decided to maintain his composure so that Azula and her friends wouldn't notice.

"What's the matter? A little sore, are we?" Azula said trying to feign sympathy

"NO, I'm just FINE!" Sokka shouted as he rubbed his arm.

"Did we hurt you THAT badly? Well don't worry, once we apprehend you water peasant, you'll be able to rest in one our most comfortable prison cells." Azula said continuing her false kindness.

"Apprehend me? You and what army?!" Sokka shouted bravely.

Azula snapped her fingers and a dozen Fire Nation soldiers ran to her aid who surrounded Sokka, which made him nervous.

"This one from the campsite I passed on the way back to the ship. I thought it would be useful to have more soldiers to guard the avatar, while some of them stayed in the forest searching for the rest of you." Azula said extending her smile.

"You know, that was supposed to be a RHETORICAL question." Sokka said as his injuries felt worse.

As Sokka did his best to fend off the advancing soldiers, Ty Lee run up from behind him and numbed his appendages, causing him to fall over. Sokka tried to move,but the pain from his overexerted body was too much for him, and he felt like he could pass out again at any moment. The last image he saw was Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee surrounding him, and he had one final thought.

"This just ISN'T my day." Sokka said as he closed his eyes and hoped that Katara and Toph were better off than he was now.

That's the end of chapter 8. I'm having fun writing this story, so I'll try to write the next chapter quickly. I'll update as soon as I can.


	9. Divided They Stand

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

I'm really happy with the progress of the story, and was inspired to continue with the next chapter. This chapter will explain a few things and have some more action in it as well. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Chapter 9

The forest was quiet and a gentle breeze passed by, which awoke Katara who was just trying to remember what had happened to her. As she recovered from her daze, Katara rubbed her eyes and heard a friend's voice speak to her.

"Hey, long time no see Sugar Queen. You've been out it for quite a while." Toph said.

"Sugar Queen...Toph, is that you?" Katara asked as she finished wiping her face.

"Oh good, you can still HEAR properly. That's a good sign." Toph said as she handed Katara a cup of jasmine tea.

"Where did you get this tea? Did YOU make it, because it's really good." Katara asked Toph as she sipped some of her tea.

"It's like I told Sokka a while back. My friend the old man came by and made this tea, right before he left to find his nephew was training by himself." Toph explained.

"Wait a minute...where is Sokka...and Aang?" Katara asked with concern.

"Well, the bad news is that those Fire Nation girls that ambushed us took Aang while we were passed out. But the good news is that Sokka went off a while ago to try to delay them until we could go after him." Toph said.

"Sokka ran off after those girls ALONE?!" Katara asked nervously.

"Yeah, okay so maybe the "good" news wasn't so good after all." Toph said.

"I can't believe he would do something so reckless!" Katara screamed.

"Yeah, well you know what they say, boys will be boys." Toph said.

"Let's go Toph! He can't do this by himself!" Katara said frantically.

"I'd love to Katara, but my foot's been really hurting." Toph said as she showed Katara her injury.

"That scratch on your ankle looks pretty bad. You must have got it when we fought Azula and her friends." Katara said as she used some of her remaining water in her canteen to heal Toph's injury.

"Hey thanks, that feels a LOT better. Sokka was right, you make a pretty good doctor Katara." Toph said as she stood up.

"You're welcome Toph. Now which way did Sokka go?" Katara asked.

"He left about an hour ago, and said that he was going to follow some footprints on the ground." Toph answered.

Katara looked at the ground, and saw the faint remains of several pairs of footprints running in one direction. She knew that one of those pairs had to be Sokka's, and started following them as fast as she could.

"Hey, wait up!" Toph cried out.

The two girls ran as fast as they could, follow the impressions of the footprints that Katara saw. Toph followed behind her since she was unable to see the footprints, and they were determined to save their friends at all costs. Eventually they reached the Fire Nation camp that Sokka had ran into earlier, but unlike before when it was deserted, there were soldiers all over the area. Katara and Toph quickly took cover behind a couple of bushes.

"This isn't good Toph. From what I can see, there are about twelve soldiers." Katara said as she poked her head through a nearby bush.

"Twelve soldiers against us? That's so unfair...for THEM!" Toph shouted causing some soldiers to look in their direction causing the two girls to duck back into the bushes.

"Toph, be quiet. We don't want them to see us." Katara whispered to Toph.

"Oh, come on Katara, I can take these guys out by myself!" Toph said confidently.

"I'm sure you could Toph, but we don't have time for that right now. We have to hurry and save the others." Katara said.

As much as Toph wanted to fight the Fire Nation soldiers head on, she knew that Katara was right, and also knew that Katara wouldn't let her change her mind about the subject. Toph didn't feel like arguing right now, so she just went along with Katara's plan.

"Fine Katara, we'll do it your way this time." Toph replied.

"We'll have to sneak around this campsite, and make sure that we're not seen." Katara said.

"No wait, I have a better idea. Close your eyes." Toph said as she felt a breeze.

Katara closed her eyes and Toph used her earthbending to quickly move a large quantity of dirt into the breeze and spread dust throughout the Fire Nation campsite, causing the soldiers to spread out of the area temporarily.

"Katara, keep your eyes closed and take my hand." Toph said.

"Okay." Katara said as she reached for Toph.

Toph lead Katara through the Fire Nation campsite as the soldiers were still coughing and wiping their eyes. The two girls made it through the dust storm, and were able to find their way to the clearing where Azula's ship was at the tip of the ocean.

"Alright Katara, you can open your eyes now." Toph told her.

Katara opened her eyes, and saw the massive Fire Navy ship before her. She was able to piece everything together and knew that her friends were in dire need of assistance.

"Oh no, I was right! Sokka and Aang ARE in trouble!" Katara cried out.

"And they're not the only ones." Toph said as she looked behind her, and noticed that the Fire Nation soldiers from the campsite had recovered from the dust storm and were chasing them.

"This isn't good, we don't have time for this!" Katara exclaimed as she prepared a battle stance.

"You're right. WE don't have time for this." Toph told her.

"Toph, what are you saying?" Katara asked.

"It looks like I get to take these guys down after all. You go on. I can handle myself." Toph said proudly.

"No, Toph. You can't do this alone. Let me help you." Katara said sympathetically.

"Look Katara, we don't have time to argue. YOU have to go on that ship and find the others while I stay here and hold these guys off. Remember, it's a metal ship, so I can't bend on that thing." Toph explained.

"Alright, I'll go. Just remember, metal is just a refined form of earth, so you don't need to feel too uncomfortable." Katara said.

"That's true. I always wondered why I couldn't bend metal since it is part of earth. You just watch, one day, I'll figure out the secret, and bend both earth AND metal. After all, I'm the world's GREATEST earthbender!" Toph shouted as she shook the earth beneath the soldiers feet causing them to fall over.

"I'll be back as fast as I can." Katara said as she ran up the gangplank.

"Take your time. I'm in no hurry." Toph said with a smile.

The soldiers stood up and prepared a counter attack, but Toph wasn't afraid and boldly stood her ground.

"Alright guys, who's ready for round two?" Toph said as her smile turned into a smirk.

Katara ran up the gangplank and saw that the ship's deck had a few Fire Nation soldiers patrolling the area. She carefully maneuvered around the ship, being very careful not to be seen by anyone. Katara eventually found the entrance to the lower deck that Sokka had tried to access before his encounter with Azula and her friends.

"I hope that I can find the others quick. Every second I stay on this ship, I run the risk of being caught by the soldiers, or worse." Katara said as she remembered her battle in the forest.

Katara thought back to how she was unable to stop Azula, Mai and Ty Lee from overwhelming her when they captured Aang. She particularly remembered how Ty Lee was able to stop her from waterbending again, and that thought infuriated her the most.

"I can't believe I let her do that to me AGAIN! What was Sokka thinking just letting Ty Lee go when we first found her?! I guess Toph was right, boys WILL be boys!" Katara thought to herself.

Katara was eventually able to make her way to a corridor that led her down a narrow hall and when she reached the end she saw several Fire Nation soldiers guarding a room in the distance. Just as she was planning her next move, she turned around and saw some more soldiers at the end of the hall heading her way.

"This isn't good. I'm sure they're keeping Aang in that room, but I don't know how to reach him without being seen." Katara thought to herself as she hid behind a crevasse in the wall.

Katara knew she would have to think fast if she was going to save Aang and Sokka, but she would have to think even faster if she was going to save herself.

That's the end of chapter 9. I hope that this explains a few things. I wanted to focus on the other characters as well. I'll update as fast as I can.


	10. The Great Escape

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

This was a very fun story to write, and I am very pleased with the result. This will be the last chapter. Thank you all for your reviews and support. I really appreciate them.

Chapter 10

Sokka awoke and found himself in a dank dungeon cell. After he was able to remember what had happened, he was able to determine that he was in the ship's brig. He groaned as he stood up and realized that he was now a prisoner. Sokka was frustrated by the fact that the rescuer now had to be rescued, but his troubles were only going to get worse as he noticed who was guarding his cell.

"Oh, man. Beaten twice in one day. That's got to be a personal record." Sokka said as he rubbed his head.

"So, your awake now are you?" said a droll female voice.

"Hey, its YOU! That girl from Omashu who let Azula use her brother as a bargaining chip when we were trying to save King Bumi! What did Ty Lee say your name was?! Mai, that's it!" Sokka shouted.

"That would be me, and you would be the water tribe boy Ty Lee is obviously infatuated with. I wonder if my brother drooled on you too when you held him." Mai responded.

"Well yeah...but that's not the POINT! How could you just let your younger brother be endangered like that?! A good older sister would have protected her younger sibling at all cost!" Sokka yelled as he grabbed the bars of his cage.

"You mean same way you protected YOUR younger sibling from us every time we met up?" Mai calmly stated.

"Well, that's not what I meant!" Sokka screamed out of slight embarrassment.

"Your chattering reminds me of a poodle-monkey I saw. I can see why Ty Lee is so...interested in you now. You're not as entertaining as Zuko, but to each their own." Mai said while maintaining her stoic demeanor.

Sokka didn't know what offended him more, the thought of being compared to a poodle-monkey, or the thought of being compared to Zuko.

"First of all, I'm NOTHING like Zuko! Second of all, YOU'RE nothing like Ty Lee! And third of all...well, I'll get back to you on that." Sokka said.

"I guess that's your opinion then." Mai replied.

"MY opinion is that the Fire Nation is full of people who wouldn't stop at anything to get what they want no matter what the cost to others may be! It's just cruel!" Sokka shouted.

"So wait a minute, YOU befriend Ty Lee, and lead her on, but then admit that your friendship was just a lie and WE'RE the cruel ones? I guess it's true, all is fair in love and war right?" Mai asked calmly.

"Well..." Sokka said trying to form a response.

"I never really did believe the ends justified the means in situations like these, but I guess Azula was right." Mai said.

Sokka didn't like losing at anything whether it was a physical fight or an argument, especially to the Fire Nation, but he couldn't deny that Mai was absolutely right. Sokka decided it would be best to try to reverse the argument against her.

"I bet TY LEE wouldn't have let Azula use HER family for such a selfish reason." Sokka said bluntly.

"You STILL don't understand yet, do you? You don't disobey Fire Nation royalty, or you end up in YOUR situation. It's foolish to do so. Only ONE person I knew ever defied them, and he was exiled." Mai said with a hint of sadness.

"So you think I'm foolish for standing up to the Fire Nation, huh? Well, I'd rather be a hopeless fool than a mindless puppet who does only as she's commanded." Sokka said proudly.

"Like I said before, I guess that's your opinion." Mai said in a non-caring manner as she walked towards the exit of the brig and opened the door.

"Oh no." Sokka thought as he saw Ty Lee enter the room.

"Azula told me to tell you that the ship's mechanic says that maintenance is almost complete and that we'll be ready to leave shortly." Ty Lee told Mai.

"Alright, I'm taking a break. Maybe I'll see what "her highness" is up to." Mai said as she handed Ty Lee the keys to the cells and stepped outside the door.

"So...long time no see?" Sokka said sheepishly as Ty Lee stood in front of his cell.

"Quiet! The prisoners are not allowed to talk!" Ty Lee said sharply as she turned her back to Sokka.

"Wow she's still mad at me. I can't say I'm too surprised." Sokka thought to himself as he noticed Ty Lee wipe her face.

"Listen Ty Lee, about what I said in the forest, I didn't MEAN it..." Sokka began.

"Then why did you say it?" Ty Lee asked quietly.

"Well, I..." Sokka said at a loss for a better explanation.

"You were just using your friendship with me to have an advantage in the war. I wasn't a new friend to you, just one less opponent to deal with. That's something I would expect from Azula, but not from you." Ty Lee said sadly.

"No, that's not it. You don't understand..." Sokka replied.

"I heard you clearly. You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it. I really liked you Sokka. I didn't care that you were from the Water tribe, but you couldn't see past the fact that I was from the Fire Nation. While it's true that I'm from the Fire Nation, I'm also a girl. I have feelings, and you've hurt them." Ty Lee said as tears slid down her face.

Sokka could see that Ty Lee was sincerely hurt by his actions, and then he remembered one time when he was a little kid. He was teasing Katara and just playing around, but accidentally went too far and she started to cry. His parents came up to him, and while his mother consoled Katara, his father told him a man has to protect and respect women, and that the worst thing a man could do is hurt a woman.

"I can't believe I forgot that." Sokka thought to himself.

Sokka then remembered the events of the invasion of the North Pole, and how upset and heartbroken he was during Princess Yue's sacrifice. He wouldn't wish that kind of pain on his worst enemy, let alone a kind person like Ty Lee. The fact that he had forgotten his father's words, along with making Ty Lee cry was causing Sokka to feel incredibly guilty.

"Okay, Ty Lee this is the truth. I only said those things because I was around my friends at the time, and I was nervous, so I said something I shouldn't have. I didn't know you were in the area at the time, because if I had, I would have never said that. I know that doesn't excuse my actions, but I hope it explains them. What I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry I hurt you." Sokka said sincerely.

"I didn't tell Azula where the avatar was. I was talking to Mai about how I found you in the woods, and Azula overheard and thought that you would be near the avatar. She insisted that I take her to area I had just been in, and she would know if I lied to her. Azula knows when people are lying because she's had so much experience at it, and I'm a really bad liar anyway." Ty Lee said as she slowly faced Sokka.

"Well that explains a lot." Sokka said.

"When we returned to the area, Azula saw the avatar, and began her attack. You and your friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ty Lee replied.

"Yeah, we're use to that." Sokka said as he looked at Ty Lee.

"Thank you for your apology, Sokka. It meant a lot to me." Ty Lee said as she smiled.

"Yeah, no problem. Remember, I'm just "a guy who would like a cute girl even if she's from the Fire Nation" as you said before." Sokka said while flashing a big grin.

"I can see that now." Ty Lee said with a slight giggle.

Just then, several soldiers ran by the prison corridor that Sokka and Ty Lee were in, and were talking about seeing a female waterbender aboard the ship near the avatar's holding cell, and were gathering reinforcements from a recent battle with a female earthbender outside of the ship. Sokka knew that they were talking about Katara and Toph, and knew he had to help them, before it was too late. He had a plan, but was uncertain it would work. Sokka decided that he had to try.

"Ty Lee, I have a big favor I need to ask you." Sokka said quickly.

"What is it cutie?" Ty Lee said as she looked at him through the cell bars.

"Well, I kind of need you to open this door and let me out." Sokka said completely sure that his request would be denied.

"What? I...I can't. I'm sorry, but Azula..." Ty Lee said nervously.

"Ty Lee, I know you might be afraid of defying Azula, but you know that keeping me and my friends prisoner isn't right." Sokka said.

"Well...I..." Ty Lee said as she looked at the key in her hand.

"Ty Lee, I lost my mother to the Fire Nation, please don't make me lose my sister the same way." Sokka pleaded.

Sokka's words had truly touched Ty Lee, and in an instant, she unlocked Sokka's cell without thinking. By the time she had realized what she had done, all she noticed was Sokka hugging her, and giving her a small kiss on her left cheek, which made her blush.

"Thank you Ty Lee. You did the right thing." Sokka said warmly.

"So that means we'll still have dinner and a pastry after the war is over?" Ty Lee asked.

"Sure we will. In fact, I look forward too it." Sokka said as he ran out of the prison corridor.

"And when I rub my cheek. I'll remember that promise too." Ty Lee said as she saw Mai come in a little while afterwards.

"Ty Lee, I think the prisoner just escaped. Are you alright? What happened?" Mai asked with a slight bit of concern.

"Well...you see...I...Oh please, don't tell Azula!" Ty Lee cried out.

"It's no business of mine what you choose to do. Like I said before, to each their own." Mai said calmly.

"Thank you Mai." Ty lee said as she hugged her.

Mai was used to Ty Lee hugging her on numerous occasions, so this didn't surprise her. Ty Lee was happy, and felt she had done the right thing. All Ty Lee could think about was if Sokka was safe, considering how many Fire Nation soldiers were aboard the ship.

Sokka was running around frantically searching for Katara, until he saw her running with Aang, who was still unconscious on her back. He was able to catch up with her and explained what happened to him, but then more Fire Nation soldiers followed them from behind. Katara explained to Sokka about how she and Toph followed the footprints that led to the boat, and how she found Aang in a cell surrounded by soldiers, which she was able to defeat after they saw her.

"It's a good thing you're safe Katara. I guess we were pretty lucky you were able to find Aang." Sokka said as he started to run faster.

"Likewise, but I still don't understand why Ty Lee would let you go after you were captured." Katara said as she chased after Sokka.

"Let's just say I have my ways." Sokka said with a smile.

"We can talk more about this AFTER we escape the soldiers." Katara said as Aang started to awaken.

"Sokka, he's waking up." Katara said as they approached the upper deck.

"That's a relief." Sokka replied as they made it to the top of the ship.

As Sokka and Katara, made it to the top of the ship, Aang had regained consciousness and blew his bison whistle so that Appa would hear it. Just as Katara had set Aang down, Toph ran up onto the ship, exhausted and chased by more soldiers.

"Toph, are you alright?" Katara asked.

"Sorry guys, there were more soldiers then I thought. They had reinforcements, and I thought I should come up here to warn you." Toph said as she caught her breath.

The others knew that Toph had bitten off more than she could chew, and was too tired to handle all of the soldiers alone, but was too proud to admit it. Just then, the soldiers that were chasing Sokka and Katara caught up with them. Aang and his friends were surrounded but fought back the best way that they could.

"Don't worry guys. I'll hold them off." Aang said as he released a powerful air current that scattered the soldiers.

"I'll help you, Aang." Katara said as she used her water whip to fend off some of the advancing soldiers.

Aang and Katara were able to delay the soldiers, while Sokka and Toph watched their backs since Sokka's arms were still tired from his last encounter with Azula and her friends and Toph couldn't bend on the metal ship. Everything was going alright, until a lightning bolt almost hit Aang causing him to spin quickly to evade it, and he noticed that Azula, Mai and Ty Lee had caught up with him.

"Don't tell me you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" Azula said in cold tone.

"Oh no, not THIS again! I can't be beaten THREE times in one day!" Sokka yelled.

"I have no idea how YOU escaped, and now I don't really care. I started this day with only one prisoner, then two, and now I have four. Did you ever have one of those days where everything goes your way, because it's absolutely wonderful." Azula said, as the soldiers regrouped and surrounded Aang and his friends.

"We'll never surrender to YOU!" Aang said bravely.

At that moment, Momo landed on Aang's shoulder from the sky, and Appa landed on the ship right next to him. Appa then spun around and knocked down the Fire Nation soldiers, causing Azula and her friends to jump back as Appa slammed his tail on the ground. The wind from his tail pushed Azula and her friends further back.

"Appa! I knew you'd hear the whistle boy!" Aang said as he hugged Appa's side.

Aang and the others quickly hopped on top of Appa, and they flew off in the distance, while dodging Azula's fire and lightning. Azula and Mai stood up, and saw Ty Lee standing and staring at Appa flying in the sky, thinking about the next time that she would see Sokka again.

As Aang and his friends crossed the water, Sokka looked back at the Fire Navy boat and realized that even though the war wasn't over, he had won something else just as precious and valuable: a young woman's heart.

Sokka and Ty Lee were now good friends and both had the same thought in mind as they parted ways: "Until we meet again."

The End

Well, that's it. I hope you liked my first Avatar fanfiction, and enjoyed reading it. I did my very best when I wrote it. I'll see you later.


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